North By Northwest Flemish Sour Ale

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: Sour Ale
Austin, Texas USA

GABF 2007. A hazy pale golden beer with a white head. The aroma is sweet and very sour with notes of wood and brettanomyces. The flavor is very acidic with strong notes of wood and over ripe fruits, leading to a dry woody finish. A great Flemmish Sour, thanks Logan for pointing me in the direction of this beer.

GABF 2007. Beer is light, cloudy, dirty gold with a small, frothy, white, mostly diminishing but lasting head.<P>The aroma is malty with traces of toasted grain, biscuit; Yeasty with heavy notes of sour/juicy, vinous, red wine, balsamic vinegar; Light/moderate note of sour cherry juice, trace of tomato.<P>The flavor is heavily acidic, moderately/heavily sweet with a lightly acidic, lightly sweet finish. Bready/husky retro-nasals.<P>The body is light, the texture is watery and the carbonation is lively.<P>Fair, not striking.

tap. Strong aroma of rubbing alcohol and vinegar - not the best smell ever. It burns the nostrils and throat a little bit at first. Thick amber color with a light fluffy white head. Smell isn’t the best set up - but taste is good. My first sour that I really enjoyed - and wanted more of and more flavor and tartness. Very unique and enjoyable - would really like again!

GABF 2007. Pours a cloudy ruby red color with a soapy head of off-white. Lots of diacetyl and apple cider vinegar acetic notes in the nose. A bit of red fruit character seems to be present, but it’s clouded by the butter and vinegar. Sweet, sticky body with a light carbonation. The buttery diacteyl character isn’t nearly as prominent in the flavor as it was in the nose, but is still there. Apple cider vinegar acetic notes come through strongly. Hints of red cherry fruits. This shows potential to either be good or have been good, but I’d especially like to see less acetic character and a more crisp, clean acidity with some feature vinous and oak flavors.

Bottle at the RBSG grand tasting on 6/23/07: Pours a hazy amber bronze with a thin-lacing wispy white head. Aroma of earthy chalky cherries and a touch of pale malt. Body starts with a full light caramel sweetness and a decent tart, light fruity complexity toward a drier, semi-tart earthy finish. A decent Flemish sour.

Pours reddish brown. Smell is of vinegar, sour cherry juice, and is a bit dusty. Taste is very acidic and tart, with more sour cherry flavors and a high amount of mouth puckering vinegar flavor. Intense sharp flavor, that wasn’t actually too bad, but the vinegar quality and acidity made it difficult to drink. Not a style I’m experienced with, which probably explains my score. I’d see this making a better pork marinade than beer.

GABF 2007: Looks like a love it or hate it beer. Poured a hazy brown color. Tart and acidic cherry aroma. Nice sour cherry flavor. Good acidity. The body was light to medium.
Bottle shared by notalush. Hazed copper with a thin off-white head. Tart aroma with a magic bubble glue like smell. Browned fruit flesh. Doughy. The flavor was tart and lightly acidic. Mild vinegar and cidery. Light bodied with a semi-dry finish. When the beer warmed there were some vanilla notes with mild cherry skins. Woody. Based on the second try from the bottle I would have scored 1 to 2 points lower but will leave it as is.

Don’t have much experience with beers of this style. Reminds me a lot of a lambic, only without the fruit. Very acidic with some fruit flavors. Body is thin. Interesting.